The Australian GREENS

MEDIA RELEASE

PETER CAMPBELL, CANDIDATE FOR KOOYONG

2:00pm Tuesday 12 October 2004

Greens get a good result in Kooyong despite Liberal dirty tricks

Peter Campbell, Greens candidate for Kooyong, stated today that the Greens had a good result in Kooyong, despite a campaign notable for dirty tricks by the Liberals.

“The Greens primary vote increasing from 10.7% to 12.3%, while the sitting member Petro Georgiou suffered a swing against him of 2%, which is opposite to the state-wide swing to the Coalition in Victoria,” Peter Campbell said.

“Kooyong received the 11th highest Green primary vote in Australia, demonstrating that the Green’s effectiveness in bringing to the forefront key issues such as Tasmanian forests, funding for public education and services before tax cuts struck a chord with voters in Kooyong.

“The Greens got strong support from Kooyong voters despite Petro Georgiou engaging in dirty tricks by misrepresenting his position on treatment of asylum seekers in the closing days of the election campaign,” Peter Campbell said.

“If Petro Georgiou is such a good performer on refugee issues why are there still 80 children in detention, and why does the Howard Government’s inhumane detention of asylum seekers continue?” Peter Campbell said.

“Petro Georgiou is a perennial backbencher who is infamous for being ‘missing in action’ - he has never actually crossed the floor on matters of principle, and he is doing very little of any consequence for his electorate. For example, he has deaf ears for local families who keep telling him there are not enough kindergarten places and childcare services in Kooyong.

“The Greens have done well despite sustained attacks and gross misrepresentation of our policies by John Howard and the Herald Sun. It is clear that progressive Greens policies on the environment through to social justice enjoy good support from the public, but are treated by contempt by the Coalition who engage in the worst behaviour we see in politics.”

“John Howard has his head in a bucket of sand when in comes to the environment and a sustainable future for Australia. Coalition voters looking behind the 'sustainable Australia' label see destroyed forests, spreading salinity, dry river estuaries, the discarded Kyoto Protocol and not even a mention of existing, let alone increased, targets for renewable energy," Peter Campbell said.

“Across Australia, the Greens have doubled their representation in the Senate, establishing them as the third force in Australian politics, despite the ALP and the Democrats both sending their preferences to the right wing Family First party and giving John Howard control of the Senate.

“Both the Coalition and the ALP are on notice that the growing support for the Greens will be a major factor for the next Victorian State election, and dirty tricks just won’t cut it with the Australian public, who desperately want real representation and leadership from their elected representatives, not just muck throwing,” Peter Campbell said.

________________________________________________________________________

For more information, please contact:

Simon Lansdown, Media Officer, Telephone: 0415 535 564

Peter Campbell, Greens candidate for Kooyong, Telephone: 0409 417 504